Escondido Councilwoman Olga Diaz, who is running for mayor, has come out in favor of an initiative that could allow for the construction of up to 430 homes on the Escondido Country Club’s blighted golf course.

The announcement — made in an email blast to supporters Tuesday night — represents a change of heart for Diaz, who was part of a unanimous council vote last summer to declare the golf course permanent open space.

Olga Diaz

Hayne Palmour IV

Olga Diaz

Olga Diaz (Hayne Palmour IV)

“I have evaluated the options, removing the emotion of loss (from both parties) and considered only the measurable outcomes to determine that The Lakes Specific Plan Initiative is worth supporting,” Diaz said the email. “I believe it is actually a pretty good plan. Not perfect, but good.”

She cited the developer’s ongoing lawsuit against the city and the risk to taxpayers if Escondido loses the case as some of the reasons for her decision.

The move angered initiative opponents, many of whom are Country Club residents who bought their homes thinking they would always live near or adjacent to a golf course.

Mike Slater, president of the homeowners association behind the “No on Prop. H” campaign, blasted what he called Diaz’s “betrayal.”

“For the last 1½ years Olga Diaz has claimed she supports the homeowners in Escondido. We learn now, on the eve of her mayoral election, that she has abandoned those homeowners and joined forces with an out-of-town developer. This betrayal and abandonment of principles will not go unnoticed by voters.”

In response, Diaz said: “This has nothing to do with the developer. This has everything to do with looking out for the long-term fiscal management of this issue. We have spent nearly $300.000 in court already and we are just getting started. It could be years before this issue is resolved.”

Mayor Sam Abed, who is running against Diaz in the November election, previously said he would vote against the measure. On Wednesday, however, he appeared to be taking a more neutral position.

“After the voters make the decision we need to sit down and work together, all of us — the city, the Country Club community and Stuck in the Rough — to find a solution and a good project that will benefit everyone,” he said.

“I believe there are property rights on both sides and I think they have the right to put it to the voters and we will leave it up to the voters to make that decision,” Abed said.

Stuck in the Rough is the development company owned by Michael Schlesinger, who purchased the Country Club site two years ago.

Not long after he announced plans to build there, residents in the area launched their own initiative seeking to block any development on the course. The group gathered enough signatures to force the measure on a ballot, but the Escondido City Council approved it outright instead of calling a special election.

Schlesinger countered with a lawsuit and his own initiative, now known as Prop H. It qualified for the November ballot after more than 11,000 signatures were gathered earlier this year. The measure would allow roughly 400 homes, as well as amenities like swimming pools and open space, to be built at the site.

Schlesinger says Prop. H will be a good thing for the city because it will bring jobs and money into the area and will end the blight that the property has become.

In her announcement Diaz say she now supports Prop. H because it is a compromise proposal.

“It provides a path to resolving an expensive legal dispute, offering a mix of community amenities, open space and new residential housing,” she said.

In his lawsuit against the city, Schlesinger argued the open-space declaration was an illegal “taking” of his property because it eviscerated the land’s value. Should the initiative pass, the damages would be minimized because Schlesinger will be allowed to develop the land.